Force carbing to make Champagne - how long and what PSI?

[Nitrousbird]

I just got my 6-tap Keezer going last night (will post a separate thread with all the details once I finish up a few smaller things to complete it). I didn't spare much expense with it, going all stainless steel for everything touching liquid, Perlick faucets (including 4 creamer faucets), and have a C02 system for beer/champagne/cider and Argon for wine. Let's just say I am at $1600 and counting and that was me putting many hours of price shopping into play...otherwise I'd be over 2k.

We have a batch of white something or other ready in the basement for bottling/kegging (it's been there a couple months, I'd have to get off my arse and look to see what it is). I want to force carb half the batch to see how it turns out as champagne.

I am very new to kegging/force carbing anything but not new to making wine.

What pressure will I need? How long will I need to keep it at that pressure in order for it to be fully carbed? I can run two different CO2 pressures in my setup as I have a secondary regulator.

 

[Shakybones]

YMMV, but I kept my last batch of dry orange melomel @ ~14psi, @38F (temp does matter) for a week and it's as fizzy as I can stand it. You have to serve it at the carb pressure or it won't remain at that level of carb. It's fine, though, since it won't foam the way beer does.

 

[JuanMoore]

The pressure depends on your desired carb level and the liquid temperature. You need to use one of the many charts or calculators available online to determine the pressure. Most champagne is very highly carbed, usually between 4 and 6 vol, which is going to require at least 20 psi even at very cold temps. If you're using corny kegs, I'd keep the pressure under 50 psi, since most corny PRV's are set to release pressure at ~ 60 psi. It will usually take a week or two at serving temp and pressure for the carbonation to reach equilibrium.

http://www.kegerators.com/carbonation-table.php

 

[Nitrousbird]

I've had it carbing @ 40psi for a few days. Each day we check it and there is a noticeable improvement each day (just a small glass each time). Issues:

- At 40PSI, it shoots out of the tap like a freaking fire hose. I have to be uber careful and still end up spilling a bit.

- Foam, foam and more foam. It has this huge head on it whenever I pour a glass.

Any way to fix either of the above issues? I'm willing to (unhappily) buy another tap if need be.

 

[JuanMoore]

To counter the extremely high pressures you need to add resistance to slow the flow down considerably before it gets to the faucet. Generally this is accomplished with longer or smaller diameter beverage lines. For standard 3/16" ID beer line, you'd need about 30 of line per faucet.

You can also add resistance by inserting epoxy mixing sticks into the diptubes of the kegs-
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/cure-your-short-hose-troubles-100151/

 

[Shakybones]

I'll second the epoxy mixing tube recommendation. I use them for all my kegs. I'd also suggest pouring at a more reasonable psi (~14-16 @ ~40F). You can always crank it back up afterwards. I'm no genius, but I think you are overcarbing if you leave it at 40psi for more than the first couple of days.

Again, at 14 psi and ~38F, my dry meads are as bubbly as I would ever care for them to be.